Dumplings

I made dumplings over the weekend and after a few little accidents in the kitchen (burning some utensils and melting a colander) I ate dumplings for dinner as well as for breakfast the following day and was a happy camper! A little background on momos for those who are not aware of their existence. Momos originally came from Nepal and are very similar to a dumpling. It is very similar in preparation to dumplings except momos have a much thicker wrapper or skin and it is served with either a tomato broth or some kind of a spicy sauce. I have had steamed, pan fried and the fried versions of this dish.

I love everything about the Himalayan region in India- the Tibetan/Nepalese influence, Buddhism, the temples, the weather, the monks, the lush greenery, and of course the food. Growing up I always saw Tibetan or maybe Nepalese women come down to Delhi to sell handmade products- shawls, sweaters, bags and other cool stuff and the only place I knew where you could get momos was Delhi Haat. Now with world being more mobile there are Tibetan restaurants all over India and two of my favorite dishes from there are momos and thukpa. I recently ate both of these dishes at a Tibetan restaurant in New york and it was so satisfying, cant wait to go back to eat again. But for now, here is how you can make veggie dumplings.

Things you will need:
1/2 of a medium sized cabbage (finely chopped)
1 carrot (finely grated)
2 green onions or scallions (finely chopped)
ginger root (finely chopped)
salt & pepper
1 tsp red chilly flakes
a dash or two of soy sauce
2 tsp corn starch
2 tsp sesame seed oil
wonton wrappers

In a pan heat oil and add the green onions and saute for about 1 min. Add the ginger root and chilly and mix for another min, then add the cabbage and carrot and salt and cook till the veggies are cooked through- approx 4 min. Add the soy sauce and black pepper to the mixture and sprinkle the cornstarch so that the mixture starts sticking together- the stuffing mixture is ready. Taste it at this point and adjust salt or soy sauce as per your taste.

Stuff the filling in the wrappers (pls. see at the back of the package for directions on folding the wrapper) and steam for about 8 min or till the wrapper turns transparent. For those who do not have a steamer and don’t want to invest in it- you can make a home made steamer which might not be as effective as a REAL steamer but will do the job. Fill a big pot with 2 glasses of water and place a colander on top. Cover the colander with the lid of the pot and walla the home made steamer is ready!! You can line the surface of the colander with some lettuce or cabbage leaves before steaming the dumpling so that it doesn’t stick to the colander. Serve the dumplings with a soy sauce, sambal sauce and brown sugar mixture and Enjoy!!